The Seforim Blog is pleased to announce that esteemed Seforim Blog contributor Dr. Marc Shapiro is speaking at Young Israel Beth-El of Boro Park, 4802 15th Avenue in Brooklyn, this coming Saturday night December 21 at 8pm.
The title of his talk is “Judaism and Islam: Some Historical and Halakhic Perspectives”.… Read More...
By Zachary Rothblatt
Zachary Rothblatt learned in Kerem B’Yavneh, Ner Yisroel, and will be receiving Semicha soon from RIETS. He is finishing a graduate degree in Bible and Talmud at the Bernard Revel Graduate School for Jewish Studies. He is a Judaic studies teacher at the Idea School in Tenafly, New Jersey.
One of the most famous halachic debates of … Read More...
Apostates and More, Part 2
Marc B. Shapiro
Continued from here
1. Another apostate was Rabbi Nehemiah ben Jacob ha-Kohen of Ferrara, who was an important supporter of R. Moses Hayyim Luzzatto during the controversy about him.[1]Here is the the final page of the haskamah he wrote in 1729 for R. Aviad Sar Shalom Basilea’s Emunat Hakhamim.
R. Isaac Lampronte, in a halakhic discussion in his Pahad Yitzhak
Concerning Athei Merahiq, Nasog Ahor, and the Ravia Mugrash, and More
by Rabbi Avi Grossman
(The author would like to express his gratitude to those who supported the recent publication of his Haggadat Hapesah. Contact him at avrohom.grossman@gmail.com to obtain a copy. Parts of this post originally appeared here.)
Recently, I was privileged to be part of a fun-yet-esoteric discussion on matters of Hebrew grammar. First, some background: … Read More...
An enigmatic Pseudo-Shklov edition of Barukh She’amar[1]
By Marvin J. Heller
A title-page describing the work as an 1820 Shklov press publication is indicative of an enigmatic pseudo-edition of Baruch She’amar, a halakhot work pertaining to Sefer Torah, tefillin, and mezuzot by R. Simeon bar Eliʻezer (d. c. 1360). The author of Barukh She’amar, R. Simeon bar Eliʻezer (d. c. 1360), was born in Saxony, Germany … Read More...
by Chaim Katz
Berakhot Koren Talmud Bavli (KE) is a translation (into English) of Rav Adin Even-Yisrael Steinsaltz’s Hebrew edition of tractate Berakhot. It comprises the text of the Talmud, the in-line commentary, the explanation of foreign words, the mini-studies (iyunim), the biographies of selected sages, the description of cultural objects (hahayim), descriptions of fauna and flora and … Read More...
Cemeteries and Response to Criticism
Marc B. Shapiro
In my last post here I said that when it is safe, I will go to Baghdad to visit the grave of the Ben Ish Hai. I cannot find a picture of the Ben Ish Hai’s grave online, but you can see it in R. Yaakov Moshe Hillel’s beautifully produced recent book, Ben Ish Hai, p. 337. However, this is from the … Read More...
New Notes Added in the Koren Talmud Bavli
Shalom Z. Berger
I would like to thank Chaim Katz for his close reading of the Koren Talmud Bavli, focusing on the new notes that were added in Tractate Berakhot, which he shared in a recent post on the Seforim Blog. His post offers an opportunity to share some of the background to the changes in the new English edition as compared … Read More...
Four New books
By Eliezer Brodt
In this post I would like to briefly describe four new (well, newish) works. For a short time, copies of these works can be purchased through me for a special price. Part of the proceeds will be going to support the efforts of the Seforim Blog. Contact me at Eliezerbrodt@gmail.com for more information.
.תשובות ר’ יצחק בן שמואל מדמפייר, (ר”י הזקן), ההדירו והוסיפו מבואות … Read More...
Review of Mada Toratekha Rav Yehuda Zoldan: Studying Gemara in Broad-based Depth
ר’ יהודה ברנדס מדע תורתך מסכת ברכות, מכללת הרצוג, אלון שבות תשעט
… Read More...The Following post is a short review on a new work from Rabbi Professor Yehuda Brandes on Berakhot.
For another recent article of Rabbi Brandes about Learning Gemara see this issue of Hakirah.
For a sample chapter of this new work or to
The Maharsha’s Map of Yerushalayim – A Taus Sofer?
“ברכות סא: “הנפנה ביהודה
רש”י – ירושלים בארץ יהודה היא בצפונה של ארץ יהודה בגבול שבין יהודה לבנימין
By Eli Genauer
תנו רבנן, הנפנה ביהודה לא יפנה מזרח ומערב אלא צפון ודרום, ובגליל לא יפנה אלא מזרח ומערב. ורבי יוסי מתיר, שהיה רבי יוסי אומר לא אסרו אלא ברואה ובמקום שאין שם גדר ובזמן שהשכינה … Read More...
Reuven Elitzur, Saul Lieberman, and Response to Criticism, part 2
Marc B. Shapiro
Since I mentioned R. Reuven Elitzur in my post here, let me note two other interesting items from his posthumously published book, Degel Mahaneh Reuven. On pp. 304-305 we learn that when Elitzur studied in Ponovezh, one of the students joined the Irgun. When some other students found out about this, they grabbed the Irgun
The Breadth of Rabbinic Opinion Regarding Mosaic Authorship of the Torah in the Middle Ages
By Ben Zion Katz, MD
Arguably, Orthodox theology today is much narrower than what was acceptable in the Middle Ages. For example, ArtScroll is editing Rashbam’s (Rabbi Samuel ben Meir, ca 1080 -1174) more radical comments out of their new edition of the Rabbinic Bible (Mikraot Gedolot).[1] In this paper, I will discuss a dramatic … Read More...
All אוהבי אוהבי join in mourning the passing of R. Shlomo Biegeleisen, זכרונו לברכה. One of the most knowledgeable Jewish bookdealers in recent Jewish history, he did not merely sell books. He proffered sound advice, introduced customers to each other, and – in general – provided a congenial setting for תלמידי חכמים, scholars, collectors, bibliophiles, and “ordinary” Jews to meet and exchange ideas. Many a חידוש and scholarly article resulted … Read More...
To Censor or Not to Censor: Electricity on Yom Tov, Illustrations and Other Items of Interest at Legacy Judaica’s March 2020 Auction
By: Eliezer Brodt & Dan Rabinowitz
Legacy Auction’s latest auction will take place on March 26, 2020. Their catalog provides us the opportunity to discuss a few items of interest to bibliophiles.
There are many examples of the phenomenon of censoring or declaring forgeries of teshuvot and other … Read More...
Mysteries of the Magical Fifth Passover Cup (II): The Great Disappearing Act
By Leor Jacobi
… Read More...Years ago, as a Yeshiva Bochur, a Rabbi explained to me that, according to the GRA, the Cup of Elijah at the Passover Seder is really the Fifth Cup mentioned in the Talmud which there is a doubt about Thus, it is Elijah’s cup because when he returns to herald the redemption, every Talmudic tequ
A Gift for Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulay: On R. Yaakov Shimshon Senigallia, author of the Machshirei Pischa haggada, and his relationship with Rabbi Chaim Yosef David Azulay,‘the Chida’.
Moshe Maimon, Jackson NJ
Every antique sefer collector has his specialty. Some collect first prints, some collect classic editions and some collect the prints from a specific European press. The genres vary as well, with some focusing more on Kabbalah while … Read More...
Pesach and Haggadah Themed Posts 2020
Here’s a roundup of Pesach and Haggadah-themed posts at the Seforim Blog.
Illustrations and the Haggadah
I. Racy Title Pages Update II 12.01.2005.
Discusses the title page of the Prague Haggadah of 1526. This particular Haggadah used an illustration of a nude woman in the Haggadah’s quotation of Ezekiel 16:7 (“I cause you to increase, even as the growth of the field. And you … Read More...
Towards a Bibliography of Coronavirus-related Articles & Seforim written in the past month
By Eliezer Brodt
Many of us have been under lockdown for over a month – some of us for less, some for more. However, this has not silenced the ‘voice of the Torah’; all kinds of Shiurim & classes on a wide range of topics have been made available via various methods. Otzar Hachochmah has made … Read More...
Highlights of the Mossad HaRav Kook Sale of 2020, New Rabbi Tovia Preschel volume
By Eliezer Brodt
For over thirty years, beginning on Isru Chag of Pesach, Mossad HaRav Kook publishing house has made a big sale on all of their publications, dropping prices considerably (some books are marked as low as 65% off). Each year they print around twenty new titles and introduce them at this time. They also … Read More...